﻿Hi,
Dr. Stoll has suggested I post two of my papers on holistic health each week. This week’s
offering follows.

Cliff

﻿Hi,
Dr. Stoll has suggested I post two of my papers on holistic health each week. This week’s
offering follows.

Cliff
Health Musings (Paper 15D, The adrenal glands)

by Clifford S. Garner, Ph.D.

In this paper we tell you about the adrenal glands, alternative ways of checking on their
dysfunction, and what to do about it. Adrenal disorders are common because the adrenals are so
sensitive to stress. Louise Hay ascribes adrenal problems in part to anxiety, defeatism, and no
longer caring for oneself. The Chinese Law of Five Elements (used in acupuncture and meridian
therapy) associates the adrenals with the Triple Warmer meridian of the Fire Element, for which
key emotions include despair and despondency, loneliness and heaviness.
The adrenals are two golf-ball-sized glands, one on top of each kidney. Each consists of a
core, the adrenal medulla, and an outer layer, the adrenal cortex.
Many nerves run from the sympathetic nervous system to special medulla cells which secrete
epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) on stimulation by these nerves.
These two hormones travel throughout the body via the circulatory system. Some of their more
important functions, many related to the "fight or flight" response, include: 1) Increasing cellular
metabolic rates; 2) Releasing glucose from the liver, thus raising blood sugar levels; 3) Breaking
down glucose in muscles; 4) Increasing muscle strength and mental alertness; 5) Increasing blood
flow to muscles, while at the same time decreasing flow to organs not in use at the time; 6)
Dilating blood vessels to the heart and skeleton, while constricting most other vessels; 7)
Increasing blood pressure; 8) Dilating bronchials (why epinephrine injections are given in
asthmatic attacks). Many involuntary body functions, such as respiration, heart rate, digestion,
etc., are controlled by adrenal medulla hormones.
The adrenal cortex secretes a different group of some 40 hormones collectively called
corticosteroids, which are formed from cholesterol. These exist in three major forms,
glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids, and 17-ketosteroids. Generally speaking, these hormones
help regulate protein and carbohydrate metabolism, metabolism of salt and water, and contribute
in a major way to the body’s response to stress.
The glucocorticoids consist mainly of three hormones, cortisone (often used by MDs to treat
inflammation and allergies by suppressing the immune system), corticosterone, and cortisol.
Cortisol (also known as hydrocortisone) is the most important, having many functions including:
1) Transporting amino acid building blocks of proteins to the liver where they are converted to
glucose; 2) Increasing blood sugar levels; 3) Decreasing the rate at which cells use glucose; 4)
Helping the body burn fats instead of glucose. If in too great supply, glucocorticoids can raise
serum glucose levels to a point where a diabetes-like condition ensues. Insufficient cortisol
output is associated with many symptoms, including: 1) Craving sweets, soft drinks, fruit juices,
tobacco, marijuana, etc.; 2) Dizziness on standing up too fast; 3) Headaches, blurred vision,
irritability, erratic energy levels; 4) Conditions over time such as Addison’s disease, arthritis,
bursitis, bronchitis, colitis, allergies, and frequent infections. Too much cortisol (common in
people in adrenal exhaustion) increases the rate at which bone and muscle mass is lost (among the
first symptoms of physical aging), cognitive impairment, and many serious diseases, including it
seems diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart problems, ulcers, multiple sclerosis, retinitis pigmentosa,
sand Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Some holistic medical doctors suggest trying to get
cortisol levels in the low end of the normal range for middle-aged people, namely, 7 to 11
mcg/dL.
The most important of the mineralcorticoids is aldosterone, which influences mineral balance,
especially the important sodium-potassium balance--we would die within 2 weeks without
aldosterone. An aldosterone deficiency and the resulting sodium loss is a cause of dehydration,
muscle spasm and twitching, heart palpitations, and increased perspiration, urination, and skin
pigmentation. Too much aldosterone causes higher sodium levels in the extracellular fluids (we
become thirsty) and increased potassium excretion by the kidneys, leading in turn to high blood
pressure, muscle weakness and spasms (possibly convulsions) and an overalkaline body resulting
in extreme nervousness.
The 17-ketosteroids are sex hormones, of which the main one is the male hormone (androgen)
dehydroepiandrosterone, DHEA. Because of the alleged anti-aging properties of DHEA, many
people are popping DHEA pills like candy. No long-term studies have been done on DHEA or
other popular hormones, and hormone interaction with other hormones is complex. A minority of
holistic MDs, NDs, DCs, and I think taking these hormones long-term at this time is risky; if one
is going to take DHEA, it would seem advisable to first get a lab test on serum DHEA levels, or
even better, cortisol/DHEA ratios, and to monitor them as one ingests DHEA. Actually,
determining cortisol and DHEA levels in saliva is more accurate than in blood or urine–see below
for adrenal stress index (ASI) testing. An acupuncture technique from a holistic MD, Norman
Shealy, called the “Ring of Fire,” in which certain acupoints are activated in sequence daily, has
been shown to increase DHEA levels in chronically ill patients by 50-60% in 12 weeks. Although
needles were used in the research for 20 minutes, a low intensity 670 nm laser can do the job in 5
seconds per point; rubbing the points firmly for several minutes daily will be less effective but still
useful. For those that have an acupuncture chart, the points in sequence (the points on meridians
other than Conception Vessel (CV) and Governing Vessel (GV) are done on both sides of the
body): K-3 (1" up from sole of foot and 2" forward from heel), CV-2 (midline of pubic bone),
CV-6 (1" below navel), BL-22 (just off spine in line with lowest point of rib cage), CV-18
(slightly below middle of breast bone), CX-6 (2" above middle of wrist crease), LI-18 (on vertical
line from front of ear, even with bottom of chin), GV-20 (top of skull on midline); rubbing wrong
points will not be harmful. The Ring of Fire helps in adrenal exhaustion (see below) and in
chronic fatigue.
A major cause of adrenal dysfunction is sudden extreme or chronic prolonged stress. We
tend to think of stress as emotional, but it can be physical (e.g., accidents, surgery, prolonged
illness, especially from a toxic liver and/or congested kidneys), nutritional (e.g., long-term use of
synthetic vitamins–especially ascorbic acid in high dosage, deficiencies or excesses of nutrients,
allergies), environmental (e.g., chemical sensitivities, metal toxicities, electromagnetic fields),
thermal (e.g., prolonged excessive heat or cold), many medical drugs (especially hormones),
overwork, etc., all of which adversely affect the adrenals. The Canadian physician, Dr. Hans
Selye, extensively studied the adrenals and the effect of stress on them. What he called the
"General Adaptation Syndrome" has at least three stages as follows.
The initial response is the "fight or flight" response (or "alarm stage"), designed to address
actual or perceived danger by mobilizing body resources for immediate physical action. The adren
al medulla secretes epinephrine and other stress-related hormones, overreacting to cope with the
stress. People in this stage often have “glassy” eyes, sometimes with “shiny” skin.
The second stage ("resistance stage") allows the corticosteroids to continue fighting a stressor
long after the short-lived "fight or flight" response has worn off. With chronic stress the adrenals
become overtaxed and depleted. If you are able to learn to reduce stress sufficiently and are
otherwise in at least fairly good health, the adrenals will rebuild themselves and actually grow
larger. People in this second stage often have a substantial amount of the white sclera of one
eyeball showing under the iris, due to one eyeball having rotated up from lack of right-left brain
integration brought on by the stress–this condition leads to poor depth perception and is a
common cause of accidents. If you do not learn stress reduction, you are likely to go into the
third stage, "adrenal exhaustion."
Adrenal exhaustion is reached when there is no reserve capacity to handle stress without
"going to pieces." This may mean total collapse of body function or of specific organs or glands,
especially the heart and adrenals, and impairment of blood vessels and the immune system,
whatever is inherently weak. Loss of potassium becomes extreme and depletion of
glucocorticoids becomes severe, often "instantly" leading to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
symptoms, and a tendency for greater and longer lasting illness, and even to "nervous
breakdown." This condition is not easy to reverse, even with holistic methods. People in this
third stage tend to have both eyes showing much white sclera under the irises. If the hair is
beginning to turn gray or white this is usually a sign of weak adrenals about to enter exhaustion,
which is likely to show up 6 to 12 months later. Another indicator is if one feels tired within an
hour after eating (this can also indicate allergy to what was eaten), even becoming sleepy. People
who need coffee to get through the day usually have exhausted adrenals, and the coffee drunk late
in the day usually makes them jittery.
There are many good stress management and emotional stress release techniques, including
the more elaborate ones of PKP kinesiology. In Paper 1D we described a simple effective
emotional stress release procedure. A friend recently called my attention to an excellent 1997
book, "Deep Healing," by Emmett E. Miller, MD, which presents many ideas for healing yourself
including stress management. Dr. Miller has produced excellent audiotapes for relaxation, stress
reduction, etc.
Other causes of adrenal dysfunction include: 1) Frequent over-consumption of sugar
(including in most processed foods}, honey, maple syrup, fruit juices, soft drinks, all of which
stress the pancreas as well as the adrenals, caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, etc.; 2) Fasting,
which further overtaxes weak adrenals as they attempt to maintain blood sugar levels; 3) Overuse
of cortisone injections for medical treatment of arthritis, asthma, etc., or hydrocortisone creams
for skin rash and itching--these deplete both the adrenals and the immune system; 4) Spinal
vertebral misalignment, especially of C 7 and T 10, and ankle subluxation; 5) Allergies; 6)
Pituitary dysfunction (the pituitary controls adrenal hormone secretion, especially the anterior
pituitary hormone adrenal corticotrophic hormone, ACTH); 7) Tuberculosis. Avoidance of high
glycemic-index foods is important in the adrenal stress syndrome; 8) Dental “silver” fillings (half
toxic mercury) and root canals play an extremely important role, as has been shown by Hal
Huggins, DDS.
As seen, adrenal dysfunction is complex, whether it is underactivity (hypoadrenia) or
overactivity (hyperadrenia). Sometimes when the adrenal cortex is underactive for a longer time
a rare adrenal disorder called "Addison's disease" may develop, in which discoloration and dark
pigmentation of the skin is seen, especially of elbows, knees, skin folds, scars, mouth, vagina, and
in freckles (President John Kennedy had Addison’s disease, and rumors circulated that autopsy of
his body showed a nearly complete atrophy of his adrenals). Other symptoms include lessening of
body hair in armpits and groin, appetite loss, chronic fatigue, constantly feeling cold, lowered
resistance to colds and other infections, weak ligaments, blood pressure problems, asthma, etc.
Many MDs tend to consider Addison’s disease as “incurable,” but with the proper diet, nutrition
and patience it can be overcome. Sometimes a rare disease called “Cushing’s Syndrome” may
occur from an overactive adrenal cortex and a suppressed immune system. People with Cushing's
Syndrome usually are heavy in the abdomen, buttocks and face, but with very thin arms and legs,
and the face can get acne-like sores, swollen eyelids, and body hair overgrowth is common
(women may grow a moustache or even a beard). Louise Hay lists severe emotional malnutrition
and self-anger as causative factors in Addison's disease, and overproduction of crushing ideas and
a feeling of being overpowered as factors in Cushing's Syndrome.
Medical diagnosis and treatment of adrenal disease is too complex to discuss here, except to
note that surgery may be used in hyperadrenia, and drugs such as hydrocortisone and
fluorocortisone used in hypoadrenia, which not only have a poor success rate, but also a tendency
in long-term use to affect the adrenals adversely and to cause other problems. If you want more
information on the medical approach, a good source is the Internet or a recent edition of the
"Merck Manual."
Turning to alternative ways of checking your adrenals, a good test for hypoadrenia is the
Ragland test, which you can do on yourself if you have a blood pressure measuring device. After
lying on your back relaxed for 5 minutes with the blood pressure cuff in place, but not inflated,
take your blood pressure (or have someone take it for you). Leaving the uninflated cuff in place,
quickly stand up and immediately take the pressure again (be careful of dizziness if this is a
problem for you). Your systolic blood pressure (the higher of the two numbers, 130/80 e.g,)
should rise 5-15 (mm of mercury) on standing if there is no hypoadrenia. If the systolic pressure
falls, hypoadrenia is probable, with a greater decrease tending to correlate with a greater degree
of hypoadrenia; a drop of 5 points or less corresponds to mild adrenal weakness; a drop in the 5
to 10 point range means substantial hypoadrenia; more than 10 points suggests the person is
bordering on adrenal failure. It is good to repeat the test a day or so later.
Another test is to stand and hang your arms along your sides for several minutes; the veins in
the backs of your hands will swell with blood and protrude. Now slowly raise either hand to heart
level, keeping it there–if the protruding veins disappear within 2 to 5 seconds after your hand is at
heart level, you almost surely have weak adrenals, your blood volume being low and your tissues
dehydrated. People with very strong adrenals can even raise their hand over their head and the
protruding veins will still not disappear.
Another test you can do relates more to deficiency in mineralcorticoids, which control mineral
balances. For nerve impulses to be transmitted properly there must be enough sodium ions
outside the cell and enough potassium inside the cell. In hypoadrenia there may be too much
sodium loss and too much potassium retention. This shows up not only in muscle spasm and
heart palpitation, but also in abnormal eye pupil change. To do the test it is easier to have
someone help you, although you can do it alone with a mirror. Sit in a darkened room for a few
minutes to dark-adapt the eyes, then shine the light from a not-to-strong penlight from about 6
inches away onto the center of one eye, keeping it there for at least 30 seconds. Normally the
light will constrict the pupil (dark center of eye), which will remain constricted. In hypoadrenia
one of three abnormal responses occurs: 1) The pupil opens at once; 2) The pupil yoyos between
closed and open; 3) The pupil closes at first, but reopens within 10-30 seconds of light exposure.
This is why hypoadrenal people often wear dark glasses, complain about bright sunlight, have
difficulty driving at night, etc.
A good test to find the progression of chronic stress through the general adaptation syndrome
(see earlier) is the salivary adrenal stress index test (ASI). Saliva is collected at 7 am, 11 am, 4
pm and 11 pm, and the samples are sent to a special lab. Levels of cortisol, DHEA, and the
sulfated form of DHEA ( DHEAS) are plotted against each other. The prescribing physician must
be trained in interpreting the ASI profile. One such lab is Diagnos-Tech, 1-800-878-3787; they
will send you an ASI kit without charge, and you pay them maybe $80 when you submit the 4
samples to them–they will send you a graph together with therapeutic suggestions.
Dr. Paul Eck, outstanding mineral researcher, has found that imbalance in the sodium-
magnesium ratio is associated with an adrenal disorder (as potassium-calcium imbalance is
associated with thyroid dysfunction, and so on for other mineral ratios and organs or glands), a
low sodium-magnesium ratio slows the adrenals and a high ratio speeds the adrenals. Dr. Eck
interprets hair analyses for mineral imbalances and suggests appropriate nutritional supplements
accordingly. Incidentally, one cannot simply supply the given mineral to boost its ratio, for
changing one mineral level affects all other mineral levels. Rather one has to work indirectly to
support the dysfunctioning organ/gland.
Contact Reflex Analysis, CRA, is another good way of getting information and suggested
nutrition for the adrenals and all other organ/gland/body systems. In the Las Cruces area Regis
Guest, DN, and I are trained in CRA. For readers outside the area, Steve Westin, DC, (704) 692-
6061, has a directory of health practitioners trained in CRA.
Lastly, we turn to what to do for adrenal problems. Much has been implied earlier in this
article about stress reduction, improved lifestyle, avoidance of certain foods and medications, etc.
Following a diet for your blood type (0, A, B, or AB), as explained in the excellent 1996 book,
“Eat Right 4 Your Type," by Peter D'Adamo, ND, should help.
Helpful Touch for Health (TFH) techniques include a 1-minute rubbing daily of
neurolymphatic (NL) points found by going 1 inch to each side of the navel and 2 inches up.
Softly holding with a finger or two for maybe 1 to 5 minutes daily a neurovascular (NV) point on
the midline of the skull, about 5 finger widths above the base of the skull in back should also help,
and even better is to do the rubbing of the NL with one hand and the holding of the NV with the
other hand simultaneously. In adrenal stress the sartorius, gracilis, gastrocnemius and soleus
muscles tend to be weak, and strengthening them with TFH methods helps. Use of the ESR NV
points described in my paper 1D will reduce emotional stress if applied daily. Also a help is to rub
for maybe a minute daily a reflexology point on the sole of each foot at its narrowest width and in
line with the second toes.
Once a day stand in your shower with your back to the spray so it can beat just above the
kidneys for 3 minutes with the hottest water you can stand, then for a half-minute with the coldest
water.
Some potentially helpful nutritional supplements and herbs, best checked for your use with a
pendulum or by a skilled kinesiologist, include per day: vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid or calcium
pantothenate, especially important for the adrenals, 500-2000 mg), vitamin C (3000 mg to bowel
tolerance), a good high-B complex, Standard Process B6-Niacinamide (3-12 tablets), L-tyrosine
(500 mg on an empty stomach), coenzyme Q10 (90 mg), a good adrenal extract or
protomorphogen (Standard Process Drenamin, 6 tablets, or 3 of their Whole Desiccated Adrenal),
minerals such as chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium and zinc (say,
as picolinates and/or citrates), and a good digestant such as Standard Process Zypan, maybe 2 at
each meal, and the herbs astragalus, gotu kola, licorice root, hawthorn berry, Korean or Siberian
ginseng, echinacea, and milk thistle. Alpha lipoic acid (thioctic acid) may also help. Check the
pituitary, pineal, hypothalamus and thyroid for possible nutritional need or cranial manipulation.
One way to check potential helpful supplements is to do the Ragland test (see above), then repeat
it with a tablet or capsule of the supplement in the mouth–if helpful, the supplement gives a blood
pressure increase.

DISCLAIMER:
Procedures described in this and other “Health Musings’ are reported solely for
informational purposes. The author is not directly or indirectly dispensing medical advice.
Although the author believes these procedures to be valuable, persons using them do so
entirely at their own risk.

Cliff Garner, Ph.D., is a holistic health facilitator and a professional kinesiology
practitioner. He may be reached by telephone or fax at (505) 525-1089 or by e-mail at
kosmik@totacc.com.

Gallbladder disease is currently the second leading cause of problems with digestion that
result in hospital admissions, of which there are over 800,000 annually in the U.S. and over $2
billion in direct costs from gallbladder problems. About 20% of the USA population over 40
years old have gallstones. More men than women suffer from gallbladder problems, especially
acute gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis), whereas more women than men experience
gallstones (men have more kidney stones), and married women with children have more gallstones
than unmarried women. The term “gallbladder disease” is in one sense a misnomer, for it is the
liver, bile ducts, and gallbladder that form the system that enables your body to digest fats and all
are likely to participate in gallbladder problems. Earlier we discussed the liver (paper 2D), so let
us now have a look at the gall bladder and bile ducts in this paper.
The gallbladder, situated immediately below the right lobe of the liver, is a small organ whose
function is to store and concentrate bile. The storage volume is about 1/5-1/3 fl.oz. (40-70 ml).
Bile becomes 4-12 times more concentrated than it was in the liver by absorption of water and
electrolytes through the gallbladder mucosa..
The liver makes about a quart of bile each day, and what is not sent during meals to the
duodenum directly via the common hepatic duct to emulsify fat is diverted through the cystic duct
(branching off the common hepatic duct) to the gallbladder for storage until needed. When fat in a
meal reaches the duodenum, secretin and cholecystokinin enter the circulation and, along with
nerve signals, stimulate the gallbladder to contract. This contraction, assisted by the small
intestine’s peristalsis, induces the sphincter of Oddi separating the common hepatic duct and the
duodenum to relax and the bile is propelled into the duodenum where it mixes with food (chyme)
from the stomach and pancreatic juices from the pancreas by way of the pancreatic duct. If one
eats a fairly fatty meal the gallbladder can empty completely within one hour.
The bile itself is made up of water, salts, fatty acids, lecithin, cholesterol, bilirubin, and mucus.
Medical doctors generally consider bilirubin as useless, but it is known that bilirubin that returns
to the bloodstream (see below) has a powerful protective action on the heart. Bile has two main
functions, namely, to help in the absorption and digestion of fats, and to eliminate certain waste
products from the body, especially excess cholesterol and the hemoglobin from destroyed red
blood cells (red blood cells have an average life of 120 days). In particular, the bile (1) increases
the solubility of fat-soluble vitamins, fats and cholesterol to assist in their absorption, (2)
stimulates secretion of water by the colon to help move its contents along, (3) is a medium for
excretion of bilirubin (the chief bile pigment) as a waste product of destroyed red blood cells,
other waste products, medical drugs and their degradation products, and other toxins.
Bile salts are reabsorbed into the small intestine, and resecreted into the bile after extraction
by the liver. All bile salts in the body recirculate some 10 to 12 times a day by means of this so-
called enterohepatic circulation. In each circulation small amounts of bile salts enter the colon
where bacteria break them down for excretion with the feces.
Symptoms that may suggest gallbladder dysfunction and/or gallstones include pain (sometimes
severe) under the right ribs and maybe extending up the right shoulder (somewhat mimicking a
heart attack), nausea and vomiting, belching, indigestion, gas, dizziness, irregular heartbeat,
jaundice, cold sweats, recurrent bloating and gas (especially after a fatty meal), headache, temper
loss, nervousness, and sluggishness; even anorexia and bulimia may arise. Kinesiological testing is
likely to show weak anterior deltoid and/or popliteus muscles and an active Contact Reflex
Analysis (CRA) gallbladder reflex and/or stone reflex. Medical X-rays and ultrasound may reveal
gallbladder disease, and bile duct abnormalities may show in certain lab tests.
Perhaps the chief factors leading to gallbladder attacks and dysfunction are obesity (and rapid
weight loss, more than 1 pound a week; fat-free diets are especially bad), poor dietary habits
(especially too many fatty and fried foods, too much dairy, refined sugars and refined starches,
high protein foods in excess), food allergies, parasites, long-term use of birth control pills, and a
sedentary lifestyle. Often finding and eliminating food allergies (see our paper 20D on allergies
and their removal) can stop frequent attacks of gallbladder pain and prevent unnecessary surgical
removal. Other factors include insufficient water consumption, mid-thoracic vertebral
subluxations, a weak immune system (increases likelihood of infection in the gallbladder
epithelium), and concurrent diabetes and liver diseases. Louise Hay ascribes gallstones
(cholelithiasis) to bitterness, pride, condemnation, and “hard” thoughts. Thorwald Dethlefsen and
Rüdiger Dahlke, in their book, “The Healing Power of Illness,” consider gallstones as fossilized
bits of aggression (and all deposits and stones within the body as manifestations of congealed
energy). According to the Chinese Law of the Five Elements, the gallbladder is the yang aspect
(and the liver the yin aspect) of the Wood Element, for which the key emotion is anger.
Once these factors are operating, bile produced in the liver and flowing through the biliary
ducts into the gallbladder becomes too thick, ducts may then become obstructed, gravel and
stones may form (90% of all gallstones are cholesterol), and the whole biliary system may become
clogged.
As is often the case, the orthodox medical approach to gallbladder disease and gallstones
leaves much to be desired. Surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is seldom
required, but frequently performed even for just gallstones despite inherent dangers and lots of
side effects, including (especially for the elderly, but even for the younger) the start of a steady
decline that can hasten death. Since 1990 laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in which the gallbladder
is removed through tubes inserted through small incisions made in the abdominal wall, has largely
replaced the older surgical approach, with reduced postoperative pain and a shorter stay in the
hospital. About 0.3% of patients undergoing the surgery die. For patients who do not improve
their diet following surgical removal of the gallbladder the removal leaves the person with a
greatly increased risk of colon cancer. Although fast relief of some symptoms can follow this
surgery, the relief is often short-lived and the basic causes are still present. If you have lost your
gallbladder, the regular use of bile salts at the start of meals can help substantially, including better
processing of the fat-soluble essential nutrients such as essential fatty acids and vitamins A, D, E,
and K. Probably the best way to tell (aside from kinesiology or use of a pendulum) if you are
using enough bile salts is to monitor the color of the stool. If the color is lighter than the normal
brown color, or is even a light beige or yellow, this implies insufficient bile flow, with its
underabsorption of essential nutrients, and a need for more bile salts. Such a need for more bile
salts will be greater after a meal with greater amounts of fats and oils. An excellent source of bile
salts is Standard Process Labs “Cholacol” tablets. One medical approach to acute gallbladder
inflammation and resulting attacks that is safe and effective is that used by Dr. Johan Verbanck at
the Heilig Hartziekenhuis Hospital in Roiselare, Belgium. Using ultrasound imaging, he inserts a
needle-tipped tube into the gallbladder and flushes it out with sterile salt water, filling and
removing the salt water through the tube as many as 30 times. Of eighteen of his patients with
severe gallbladder problems, seventeen experienced immediate improvement; of these 17, 13
remained totally free of further gallbladder problems. Odds are that this procedure has not made
its way to the USA. Other medical methods of handling gallstones in the gallbladder include
attempts to fragment them with sonic shock waves (lithotripsy) or to dissolve them with methyl-
tert-butyl ether, both having their problems. Gallstones in the bile ducts can be handled by
abdominal surgery, but better is the use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
(ERCP), in which an endoscope is passed through the mouth and down the esophagus, through
the stomach and into the small intestine; radiopaque contrast dye is added and the sphincter of
Oddi is opened wide enough (sphincterectomy) to allow the gallstones to pass into the small
intestine–this appears to be successful in 90% of patients. Of course there are other times when
surgery may become necessary, such as in perforation of the gallbladder (often from gangrene) or
in internal biliary fistulas, where the gallbladder or bile ducts become abnormally connected
directly to hollow viscera., or where non-benign tumors and cancers are present. All this is what I
call “crisis medicine,” so common in the orthodox medical procedures used in the USA.
Prevention of gallbladder problems lies in controlling obesity, diet and adequate intake of
drinking water, and the use of appropriate physical exercise, not to mention addressing anger,
aggressiveness, and bitterness. Keeping the immune system strong (see our papers 6D, 7D, and
22D), and the liver and small intestine (see papers 2D and 19D) healthy is important. Let’s look
now at some non-medical alternatives once gallbladder problems are evident.
Together with the dietary suggestions offered earlier, one of the simplest and most effective
procedures is to take 2 to 6 tablets of Standard Process A-F Betafood at the end of each meal.
This fantastic nutritional supplement is made from dried beet leaf juice, beet and carrot powders,
alfalfa meal, defatted wheat germ, some glandular extracts, etc., and it is a great gallbladder and
liver decongestant, bile thinner and bile mover, fat metabolizer, antibiotic, and is also helpful in
hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and elevated cholesterol (although much too much is made of the
latter “problem”). Even in acute gallbladder attacks, taking 15 A-F Betafood tablets a day for up
to 3 weeks will clear the problem, or drinking half a glass of concentrated red beet leaf juice with
each meal can stop a gallbladder attack in 2 days.
Other nutritional supplements that are helpful include digestive enzymes such as Standard
Process Zypan (2-6 daily) or their Multizyme (if stomach acid is not needed, maybe 1 with each
meal–people with gallstones, however, usually have insufficient stomach hydrochloric acid, such as
those with blood types A and AB), lipotropics such as choline (~200 mg daily), inositol (~1200 mg
daily), phosphatidyl choline (lecithin) (~500 mg daily), L-methionine (~1,000 mg daily), high-
lignan flax oil (I think Barleans Lignan Rich Flax Oil is superior, ~1-2 tablespoons daily), vitamins
A (~25,000 IU daily) and D (~1,000 IU daily), the amino acid taurine (~1,000 mg daily to increase
bile formation), vitamin C (Standard Process Cataplex ACP is natural C with all its phytochemical
synergists; much less effective is 2,000 mg ascorbic acid daily), Standard Process Cataplex GTF
(~3-6 daily), glycine (~500-1,000 mg daily), and at least 5 g daily of a good fiber supplement such
as oat bran, pectin, or psyllium. Useful herbal supplements might include Swedish bitters, milk
thistle, chamomile, peppermint, gymnema sylvestre, gravel root, dandelion leaf & root,
chicory, balmony, rhubarb, burdock, catnip (move over, Puss!), cramp bark, ginger root,
fennel, horsetail, cascara sagrada, wild yam, and turmeric. Especially helpful foods include
beets, sauerkraut, parsley, artichokes, pears, and 3 glasses daily of tea made by boiling for 20
minutes in water the rind from organic grapefruit or orange (orange, however, is a common
allergen). Two of the worst “foods” are coffee whether decaffeinated or not (aggravates symptoms
by causing the gallbladder to contract) and sugar. One way to prevent build-up of gallstones is to
eat some oil, such as extra virgin olive oil, daily; this encourages the gallbladder to contract daily
sand dump its contents into the small intestine, preventing sludge from accumulating and forming
gallstones.
Hot castor oil packs over the gallbladder for 15 minutes, then rub area for 2 minutes with an ice
cube in a cloth–repeat 3 times once daily for a week can sometimes dislodge gallstones. Rubbing
firmly acupoint CV17 (midline of front of body, between the breasts and about level with the 5th ribs
down) for a minute daily helps break up gallstones.
There are many gallbladder and liver flushes that are especially important if you have had
recurrent gallbladder problems and your diet has been typically American, but be aware that some
gallstones are too big to pass (a medical sonogram can tell, or you might be comfortable with
relying on kinesiology or a pendulum). One simple flush is to drink 3 tbs of unrefined virgin olive oil
with the juice of a lemon before retiring and on awakening for at least 3 days, or until no more
stones pass. The famous Dr. Richard Schulze, who specialized in working with “terminal” patients
(until the FDA crashed him), using flushes, herbs in extremely high potencies, etc., has a
cleansing/flush program called the “The Liver/Gall Bladder Program,” available through the
American Botanical Pharmacy, (310) 453-1987, at a cost of $32 plus S&H. Another very good
program is that of Dr. Dick Versendaal, using the following Standard Process supplements every 15
minutes for 3 hours to pass gallbladder, bile duct, and kidney stones: 10 Orchex, 10 Choline, 10
B6-Niacinamide, and 1 dropperful of Phosfood. In addition his “carotid-umbilicus technique” is
used every 15 minutes for 1-3 hours as follows (it’s easier if someone else does it on the patient):
using the index finger, apply a steady pressure into the belly button for 5 minutes, such as to
depress the belly button 1-1 ½ inches (but avoiding pain). He says it is good to do this once a day
for 12 weeks after the stones are passed.
Firm rubbing for at least 30 seconds1-2 times a day of the neurolymphatic reflexes between ribs
3 and 4, and ribs 4 and 5, just to each side of the breastbone, and between ribs 5 and 6 just under
the nipple of the right breast, is helpful. Also softly holding (not pressing or rubbing) for at least
one minute the neurovascular reflexes at the anterior fontanel (baby’s soft spot near crown of head–
locate at tip of middle finger when the wrist crease of either hand is placed on the eye brows and the
middle finger extended onto the midline of the skull) and at the hairline on the forehead directly
above the outer corner of each eye.
Rubbing the reflexology points hard on the sole of each foot along its midline over a 2-inch area
at the narrowest width of the sole may also help.

DISCLAIMER
Procedures described in this and other “Health Musings” are reported solely for
informational purposes. The author is not directly or indirectly dispensing medical advice.
Although the author believes these procedures to be valuable, persons using them do so
entirely at their own risk.
Cliff Garner, Ph.D., is a holistic health facilitator and a professional kinesiology
practitioner. He may be reached by telephone or fax at (505) 525-1089 or by e-mail at
kosmik@totacc.com.